I purchased this cookbook on the recommendation of a friend who is a devout vegan. I have a family history of heart disease, and have always kept an eI purchased this cookbook on the recommendation of a friend who is a devout vegan. I have a family history of heart disease, and have always kept an ear out for the latest on heart health research. As the research on the heart benefits of plant based diets stacked up, I figured I'd dip a toe into vegan world.

I've been a virtual vegetarian for years, based simple on taste preferences. No matter how hard I try, I cannot cook meat. And I don't mean that I look at it and cry because it was once a cuddly animal (although as a kid I once told my Aunt I wished I could suck out all the flavor of my burger and bring the cow back to life), I mean that when I cook it, it turns out hard, leathery, dried out and gross no matter how hard I try. So that means I only eat meat when somebody else is cooking...so perhaps once or twice a week.

As a result, I've got a pretty good head for making meat free dishes. But when I tried to think of a vegan meal, I was drawing blanks. Enter Veganomicon! One of the things I really like about this cookbook is that is not only gives you recipes, but a lot of tips on how to prep things. It also provides menu ideas, and identifies those recipes that are quick, gluten free, soy free etc in case there are allergy issues.